Romeo and Juliet Broadway Revival?

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 5:38pm

Yes, this play has been produced on Broadway 35 times, but it hasn't been performed on Broadway since 1987. It's been close to 30 years. Twelfth Night is coming next season... is there any chance that Romeo and Juliet will see the lights of broadway a season or two after Twelfth NIght?

Updated On: 4/25/09 at 05:38 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 6:00pm

Isn't TN going to the park and therefore, NOT B'way, but off b'way?

But...there's always a "chance".

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 6:05pm

The only way R&J comes to Broadway is unless there is an acclaimed production from--bow your head--London that Brantley pre-raves.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 6:08pm

The revival in the park with Lauren Ambrose (about whom Brantley GUSHED) a few summers ago was a lovely production. I just don't think people are willing to spend money to see ROMEO & JULIET on Broadway nowadays when they can see great productions of it anywhere.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 6:26pm

I would LOVE to see a Romeo and Juliet revival if they brought over Tom Hiddleston from England. He is young, sexy, painfully beautiful, and above all, an amazing actor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U94cuE4f77g

[Weez]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 6:29pm

You can't have Tom Hiddleston! He's OURS!

Srsly y'all, you got LAUREN AMBROSE.

Sorry, I have nothing intelligent to say. :3

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 6:36pm

But I want him over here (again)! He's brilliant!

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 6:39pm

1987 was 30 years ago?! Man I'm a lot older than I thought.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 9:41pm

GAH!!! Why did I put 30?!?!?! Sorry, its been a LONG week. And I apologize about my TN misunderstanding.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 9:41pm

Woops. Double post

Updated On: 4/25/09 at 09:41 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 10:13pm

If they do a Broadway revival I hope it's an import from the UK.

The problem with Americans doing Shakespeare is that most of the time its crap. Americans don't trust the language and so they have to have a gimmick to sell it or the times they don't have a gimmick it's just comes out crappy.

The recent R&J in Central Park was a perfect example of crap Shakespeare. The only good things about the production were Camryn Manheim as the nurse (excellent mix of bawdy and tragedy) and Christopher Evan Welch as Mercutio (finally someone who understood Mercutio's death scene!!!!)

Lauren Ambrose was channeling Lady MacBeth and Oscar Isaac looked like he graduated from the "playing Shakespeare with a stick up your butt" school.

The set for that production was the biggest joke. A big huge pool that the actors had to wade around in. It worked against the actors and was just artistic jerking off.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 10:46pm

Is it possible to ban a poster only from creating new threads? 'Cause it seems like every time Jazzy here (formerly known as the meltdowny cartagena) does so it's completely incoherent and/or idiotic.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 11:41pm

Such a beautiful play, it deserves a new look.
But Shakespeare and the other Classics that succeed nowadays
are Star turns.
So we need Nick Jonas, the Bro with the most B'Way experience and the way Hot, Freida Pinto, add on a post Equus Nude scene and we have a Christian/Pakisatan Relevant Revival.
This could work.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 1:27am

LOL - I'll back it!

[Taryn]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 1:43am

If they do a Broadway revival I hope it's an import from the UK.

It's not as if the Brits automatically do it well. I saw RSC's recent production in January and found it to be INCREDIBLY lacking.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 1:56am

No, not every UK Shakespeare production is great. But they can point to several excellent productions. The US has to scrape the barrel to find 2 good productions.

ETA: The RSC lost their mojo when they left the Barbican. Something about all those doors closing simultaneously at the beginning of the act was magic.

Updated On: 4/26/09 at 01:56 AM

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 10:25am

It's not as if the Brits automatically do it well. I saw RSC's recent production in January and found it to be INCREDIBLY lacking.


And let's not forget, Americans can do good Shakespeare (see: Othello).

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 12:45pm

Well, I don't really keep up with Shakespeare... but I know there is an upcoming RAJ production in Raleigh with Evan Rachel Wood and that dude from the mac commercials. If any American production were to transfer to the great white way, that one is the first that comes to mind.

[A Director]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 3:57pm

Nonsense! There are plenty of American actors who trust and know how to speak Shakespeare's language because they appear in productions season after season. Actors won't learn this skill by gathering in a park in the summer and doing one play.

Anne Hathaway and Raul Esparza are in 12th Night this summer. Have they ever done Shakespeare?

Cast British actors who have never done Shakespeare in any of his plays and they will be awful.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 4/27/09 at 12:20pm

It seems to me that any production of Shakespeare these days is totally dependent on who is directing and not who is starring. That more than anything is the reason American productions are often lackluster.

And Lord knows, R&J is one of the hardest to pull off...probably even harder than HAMLET or KING LEAR.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/27/09 at 12:39pm

Arthur Laurents will direct. The Capulets will speak Italian.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 4/27/09 at 1:23pm

"And Lord knows, R&J is one of the hardest to pull off...probably even harder than HAMLET or KING LEAR."

Why is that? I think it would be easier.

[Weez]

Posted: 4/27/09 at 2:01pm

Possibly that's why it would be harder to do well. People don't go into it with the same amount of preparation as for Hamlet or Lear. :P

Also, times have changed a whole bunch. The twenty-first century audience is much less accepting of love-at-first-sight, and I think we have slightly different ideas of romantic tragedy as well. I know I for one find the ending of West Side Story much sadder than the ending of Romeo & Juliet, for at least the lovers are united in death in the latter.

Your romantic hero spends most of the play moping, and your romantic heroine is incredibly determined and courageous, but still only 13 years old. There's a surprising amount of plot detail that can be easily lost. The most charismatic character is killed off rather early on. Almost every line can be found in any book of quotations, and there's a VERY fine line between giving the audience what they expect (ie have seen a zillion times before) and giving the audience something new and exciting (ie something that's different for the sake of being different and doesn't necessarily work).

Personally, I'd rather direct Hamlet. Although I am accumulating ideas for a production of Romeo & Juliet as well that may one day come to fruition. :3 My Hamlet is much more thought out though. XD

Updated On: 4/27/09 at 02:01 PM

[A Director]

Posted: 4/27/09 at 6:14pm

I have seen bad productions of R&J, Hamlet and Lear. One thing tricky thing about R&J is that up until the death of Mercutio and Tybalt, the play is more of a comedy.

A problem with Hamlet and Lear is the need to cast many strong actors. In Hamlet, without a good Hamlet, the play doesn't work. Also, Hamlet is just as familiar as R&J.

With Lear, the title role is a killer part. The three daughters are tricky to play. I'm seen two of them played as evil from the get-go, which makes the King look like a fool. I'm seen the third daughter played as a simp.

I have seen the canon and seen most of the plays many times. The problem if doing any of them is the need to come up to the play's level.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 4/27/09 at 6:28pm

"The problem if doing any of them is the need to come up to the play's level."

I think you're only partially right. Yes, productions need to study the language and understand the cadence and rise to the beauty of the language. But Shakespeare's themes are very basic and I think this is where American directors miss it. Romeo and Juliet is about two kids who fall in love but are kept apart. It's an experience that everyone over the age of 18 has been through.